The two companies that won the "Best Public Service Application Grand Award" and "Best Public Service Application (Transformation) Gold Award" in the Hong Kong ICT awards 2013 used telematics solutions from Descartes Systems Group. New World First Bus Service Limited (NWFB) and City Bus Limited implemented a platform to manage and provide more efficient services for bus transit along all their routes.
The asset management service from Descartes Telematics provides a comprehensive solution using advanced technology to keep track of vehicle fleets. Both companies implemented advanced telematics hardware based on the Android operating system. It was integrated to on-bus LED, video, and audio systems for announcing destinations and making automatic stops. The system includes Bluetooth and Wi-Fi communications with an onboard programmable logic controller, so the customer can customize the system according to their needs.
The Descartes Bus Center portal provides not only tracking of the vehicle but also audio/video content management, wireless bus updates, bus route execution monitoring, and driver messaging. In addition, the system has a predictive estimated time of arrival engine for providing accurate bus arrival times based on history and real-time information. The Bus Center portal broadcasts the estimated time of arrival of each bus on the Web through mobile devices as well as bus stop and terminal displays.
"As a major local public bus operator, we believe attracting more passengers on board is as important as effectively managing the bus fleet. While bringing more convenience to our passengers, Descartes' solution also delivers accurate information to staff for effective control," said Newton Ng, senior operations support manager of NWFB and Citybus.
Descartes is a global leader that provides a range of telematics solutions with cloud-based services. The modular Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) solutions for routing, tracking and providing other logistics solutions are used by more than 146,000 parties around the globe. The company is headquartered in Waterloo, Ontario, Canada with offices and partners around the world.
"We would like to congratulate NWFB and Citybus on their award and are thrilled to work closely with such an innovative public transportation organization. Our advanced telematics hardware and fleet management software gives customers the ability to uniquely configure their solution to improve customer service and fleet safety, and reduce costs," said Ken Wood, senior vice president of Product Strategy at Descartes.
Edited by
Jamie Epstein
